


My Place

by Imp_Overlord



Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Break Up, Breaking Up & Making Up, Established Relationship, Love Confessions, M/M, Making Up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-05-01 09:43:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14517753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imp_Overlord/pseuds/Imp_Overlord
Summary: He heard some people enter the bar, sitting down at one of the last free booths. It was a Friday evening after all and the place was rather busy. He didn‘t turn to look who it was,  until Minho placed a beer and a shot right in front of him, looking at the new arrived guests „I think you‘ll need this, it‘s on me.“





	1. My place

**Author's Note:**

> English isn't my native language.  
> Not beta read.

It was around eleven p.m. when Thomas thought about just calling it a day and going back to his place. Currently the man sat at his spot at the counter of his favourite bar, just drinking some water and talking to the owner, who also happened to be his best friend Minho.

He heard some people enter the bar, sitting down at one of the last free booths. It was a Friday evening after all and the place was rather busy. He didn‘t turn to look who it was, until Minho placed a beer and a shot right in front of him, looking at the new arrived guests „I think you‘ll need this, it‘s on me.“

With a vague feeling about who just entered Thomas turned his head around and scanned the place for someone who could bring Minho to go to such lengths as to offer him free drinks.

Near the door, slightly turned away so to not face the counter, sat a familiar, tall, blonde guy, talking to the waitress and ordering drinks and appetizers for himself – and some boy who seemed to be his date, all heart-eyes about the blonde, consuming every word he said in his thick British accent as if it was air to breathe. Pathetic.

The blonde man looked more composed, certainly enjoying the attention, fuelling it, but not responding in the same manner, a small smile around the corner of his mouth, a wink here, more like every move was planned and well thought through, no big feelings.

The blood in Thomas veins began to boil. He didn’t blink an eye, downing the shot and the beer in seconds, staring at Minho.

“Told ya you’d need it.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Newt and Thomas were a pair for a little more than two years a few months ago. Their relationship was a good one, healthy, they didn’t argue often and when they started to they just talked it out, never going to bed with hard feelings. They were passionate and little reminders of love filled their everyday life. Spending a lot of time together, either with their friends, mostly at Minhos bar or alone. They got into their own little routine without becoming a boring couple, easing into a solid, stable relationship. And they were head over heals about each other, at the beginning they couldn’t get their hands off each other. Well they couldn’t at the end either, but tried to keep it private, at their own places.

But said places turned out to be the problem at the end. Thomas didn’t see it coming, even though he should have, Newt’s friends told him, warned him about something like this, but it was pushed into the back of his mind long ago.

 

It was a normal lazy Sunday afternoon, nothing out of the ordinary when Thomas remembered he forgot something at his own flat.

“Aww shuck.” the brunet disentangled his feet from Newt’s, lifting himself up. Newt glanced up at him irritated, sitting himself up, eyes still half closed, his head rested at his lover’s chest mere seconds ago and from his look and the state of his hair he must have dozed off at some point while cuddling and watching TV.  
“What’s wrong Tommy?”  
“I forgot to bring the stuff for my classes tomorrow, but I really need my lab coat. I will just go and grab it and then come back to you.” With a quick kiss to the blondes forehead and a fond look he hurried to the door, not wanting to spent too much time apart.  
Newt huffed annoyed, slacking back to the sofa which wasn’t as comfortable without his Tommy.  
But before closing the door behind him the brunet turned around, a spark in his eyes.  
“Hey, did you ever think about, I don’t know. Maybe we could move in together at some point? Then we wouldn’t have to go forth and back every other day. We are basically living together in two flats anyway, could just make it one.” Before the blonde boy could answer Thomas shouted, “Just think about it, will ya?” and ran out the door.  
  
The next day when Thomas came home to Newt’s place the blonde boy was sitting at the table, looking at him nervously, fidgeting with a cup of tea in his hands.  
“Hey love, what’s wrong?” he asked, genuine concern in his eyes.  
“I don’t think we can stay together.”  
“What?” Thomas face full of disbelieve.

“I just don’t think this will work out. I think we should break up… “  
“But… why? I thought we were doing okay. No. We were doing really great! I don’t understand… I love you!”  
“It’s just… I don’t have those feelings for you anymore Thomas. I’m sorry. I really am.”

Thomas world shattered to pieces right there. He just couldn’t understand, nothing gave him the slightest hint something like this could happen.

Without saying another word Newt handed him a box Thomas’ didn’t notice before, apparently filled with all of Thomas’ stuff from Newts place.

“You can just hand my stuff from your place to Teresa, she will give it to me.” Newt said quietly.  
Walking to the door and holding it open, avoiding eye contact, so he wouldn’t have to see the tears of his now ex-boyfriend.

The brunet stumbled out the door, not fully processing the whole situation yet.

 

 

 

“I’m so sorry, Tom.” he heard Teresa say, but everything sounded muffled to him, drowning his fifth beer, staring into the empty glass,  
“I really thought it would be different this time… I know I told you that he gets distant… breaking up before he’s in too deep. His relationships never lasted longer than a few months, not one even scratched the one year mark. I really thought…” she mumbled.

Thomas just waved his hand roughly to her direction, he didn’t want to talk about this now.  
Didn’t want to talk to one of Newt’s best friend right now.  
Even though this girl became on of his better friends, too. She got the hint and took the box with Newt’s stuff Thomas’ brought.

“Goodbye Tom, see you around, yeah..?”

“Yeah...whatever...”

She gave him one last sad look and went out of the bar.

 

 

* * *

 

 

In the corner of his eye he saw Newt going to the restroom. And without thinking this one through he followed a minute later. He waited until Newt came out of the stall and pushed him to the wall.

“Tom-” the rest of whatever name the blonde wanted to use was silenced by a kiss. Passionate and angry, but the blonde melted on the spot, all thoughts short-circuited. One hand on the back of the brunet, the other one already in his hair. But Thomas’ had none of that, taking the hands of the blonde guy and holding them in place above his head while giving soft kisses along his jaw, placing one leg between Newt’s, earning him a soft whimper followed by panting and quiet moans that begged for more. He worked his way down to the neck. He knew all the sensitive spots by heart, so when he kissed his way up again right behind the ear the blonde didn’t realize that Thomas had just marked him. He felt his breath near his ears and barely registered that the brunet started to talk.

“… I don’t care what you’re up to, whether you start to do ballet, cut your hair, move back to England. I don’t care who you spent your time with, hell, screw every guy you want at every club’s restroom stall there is.” he whispered with calm anger, straining himself not to let his voice shake, not letting they boy he pinned against the wall see through this big lie.

He backed off, looking straight into those dark eyes, that he had loved to get lost in.

“But don’t you dare to bring one of your little boy-toys to this bar ever again, _this_ is _my_ place.”

And with that he pushed Newt out the restroom, not letting him fix his dishevelled hair or gain his composure back, pupils still dark and dilated, still panting.

Newt looked around disoriented, but the whole situation came crashing down on him when he saw his date, staring at the hickey and whole state in disbelieve, all the adoration from before wiped from his face, standing up from the booth and leaving without a word.

The blonde man walked towards the entrance, grabbing his coat and just run off silently.

 

 

Few minutes later Thomas came out of the restroom, sitting back down at the counter of the bar.  
“Man, what did you do? He looked like you just blew him in there. Didn’t look like he minded though.” Minho asked.

“Just told him to not bring one of his little fangirls here ever again.”

Minho shook his head, half laughing, placing another beer in front of Thomas.

“You better pay for their bill, they skipped out on the tab and that’s your fault.”

Thomas grinned, “That’s worth it.”


	2. Not my place anymore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newt never believed in romantic relationships. He had his fair share of partners but none ever lasted long, he always being the one to break up after a few months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a native speaker and this work is not beta-read.  
> I hope you enjoy reading!

When Newt’s face got hit by the cold and harsh November air it felt like a punch, he cooled down in an instant. For a second he thought about following Ben, trying to fix the issue, but he decided it wouldn’t be worth it, not really wanting anything from the boy from the beginning, merely using him as a cheap distraction (even though admitting this to himself wasn’t so nice), so he walked into the opposite direction towards his apartment. The icy wind crawled into his clothes, his leg hurt from walking the whole way, the damp air made him freeze to the bones. But the worst was this hollow feeling inside his chest, making him witness everything through a thick cloud, numbing his senses.

 

His hopes were up high for his apartment to engulf him in warmth from the outside and his favourite tea to warm him from the inside. And maybe that’s why realization hit him so hard, because he was so sure a warm place and some tea would be enough to make him feel better in an instant. But reality looked the other way, he couldn’t enjoy his tea, because it remembered him of all the times Thomas made it for him when he felt bad after work. And without the warmth of Thomas’ favourite wool-blanket the sofa just wasn’t as comfy. Sitting on his sofa just didn’t feel right, it felt odd, he just couldn’t find the right place and angle to sit on the cushions and he for sure didn’t need to be a detective to realize that it wasn’t because something, but _someone_ was missing.

 

Physically he was warm, yes, but his heart was aching and he couldn’t get rid of this dumb hollow feeling in his chest. He paced around the living room, and his eyes got drawn to all the empty spots.

The floor on the left side of the door, where Thomas’ shoes would stand after hastily taking them off, because he forgot to do it in the hallway _again_. That one chair at the end of the table where Thomas lab coat would hang even though Newt stated multiple times he didn’t want that because “lab stuff is gross, Tommy”, but the brunet would just wink and say “I’m lab stuff and I don’t remember you thinking anything about me is gross” and then Newt would roll his eyes and demand a kiss for the generous act of allowing it to stay on the chair. The place on the coffee-table where normally Thomas’ own mug with decaffeinated coffee would stand, because “tee also contains caffeine, Newt, so just drinking tee wont do for the evening if I wanna sleep before sunrise”, the now vast windowsill that was like a jungle before, giving a sunny space to grow for various plants Thomas tended to with delicate care. The bookshelf next to it that was now looking quite sad without enough books to fill it, because they bought it together not long ago so all of their books would fit in one place, Thomas naturally took all of his books with him when they broke up, so it was now half-empty.

But the biggest difference in the room made the walls, which where once full of photos of them and entry tickets to concerts and amusement parks and little things like the local plant fair and the flea market. Newt caught himself staring at the now white walls, not able to stop, feeling like they came closer, the ceiling crashing down on him. He couldn’t stand it anymore, everything around him was too much and too little at once, the home he wanted to keep so desperately for himself was the same place who didn’t feel like home at all now, because it wasn’t his sole home for a long time already and getting that feeling back simply didn’t work the way he wanted it to.

 

That was the moment he made his second most stupid decision ever.

The first was pushing Tommy away. Obviously.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Newt never believed in romantic relationships. He had his fair share of partners but none ever lasted long, he always being the one to break up after a few months.  
When it started to become too intimate on an emotional level, his partner becoming too clingy, wanting to go steady, taking this whole relationship thing too seriously (one time it was just a mention of maybe going on a holiday together in two years when they could afford it, more a game of make-believe than a serious concept, but enough to scare Newt away).  
Or giving the impression a relationship is something a human being needs to survive, because he just can’t stand people who think that a romantic relationship is an essential human need.  
At other times the reason for breaking up was just behaviour that made Newt a tad uncomfortable, he got annoyed by little quirks he found adorable before.  
Sometimes he got aware of little quirks he _might_ find annoying if the relationship would continue and he just wanted to keep them as a good memory, not as a bad one, so he simply broke up before that could happen.

And then there was Thomas. This beautiful, intelligent, humorous young man, who made him smile and feel things he never felt before, all so easily. Who made him wanting things he never wanted before. Who made him think that maybe it wasn’t so bad, spending the rest of your life with another person. Sure it still wasn’t necessary in Newt’s opinion, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t the nicer way to spend your life. And Newt had himself earned something nice in his life.  
Thomas never pushed him to take them more seriously, he wasn’t clingy, didn’t make big, scary future plans for years that had yet to come. And because he never pushed too hard, just a little nudge from time to time, something he would like the blonde to consider, definitely nothing he would need to continue to be with him, but merely enjoy to have, Newt felt safe enough to do so. That’s how they got serious, without Newt really noticing it at first and yet enjoying it when he finally did.

That’s how Newt started to open up, to reveal himself like he had never done before.  
He felt safe to share his late night thoughts with someone, the bad experiences he made before, the reason behind his hurt leg and why he is in America instead of England where he was born and lived until he was twenty-one.  
And in return he got understanding.  
And a partner who was willing to expose himself in all his facets, too.

Never felt something in Newt's life as right as this.

 

* * *

 

 

Thomas felt his phone buzz in his jeans, when he opened the message he read

“Hey Tom, can we meet up for lunch today? I need to talk to you about something. Don’t worry, nothing bad happened, but it’s kinda important.”

“Sure, no problem T, meet you around 12:00”

 

 

He sat down at his usual coffee table, ordered sandwiches and coffee for himself and Teresa, waiting for the woman to arrive.

Just as he wanted to message her, she stormed into the café.

“I’m so sorry Tom! I know I asked you to be here and it’s so rude that I am the one late now!”

“Don’t sweat it, I already ordered for us, it’s fine, just sit down.”

“You’re too nice for your own good sometimes!”

“It’s nothing, really. So what is it, the thing you wanted to talk about to me?”

Teresa stalled a bit before answering, taking her time to sit down, adjusting in her seat for a long time.  
Nervously tapping her foot against on table leg, avoiding eye contact, being suddenly totally interested in the menu, when she heard Thomas cough slightly she looked up and directly inside Thomas’ face, one brow raised expectantly.

“Sooo…?”  
Teresa fidgeted with her hands, playing with the rings on her fingers, before she sighed heavily.

“It’s about Newt...”

“Did something happen to him?” just the smallest bit of panic swaying in his tone.

“No! No, no, no… I told you, nothing bad happened, Newt is okay, great even.”

“So what is this about? I never saw you this nervous.”

“It’s about what might happen, not to Newt, but to you...”

“To me?” he interrupted, “I thought this was about Newt?”

“Tom! Can you please let me speak?”

“Yeah...yeah sorry.”

“It’s about Newt… and you…  
You see, Newt never had long relationships. He always… broke up with people he thought got to attached to him. Or maybe it’s before he’s the one getting too attached?  
It was a hell of a fight to even become one of his closer friends.  
It’s kinda like… he chooses flight before there even _is_ the slightest hint to a ‘fight or flight’ situation in a relationship, so he won’t have to choose later, when the decision gets harder to make.”

“So what do you wanna say? I should just go now? Cowardly running away from him before he runs away from me?!” he huffed, his eyes more glaring at her than looking now.

“No...”, she sighed again, his behaviour is exactly as she expected it to be, “ just don’t… don’t get too attached? So he won’t hurt you too much? You’re always so nice and caring and loving, I don’t want you to get your heart shattered by him just because he’s this huge coward fearing commitment and you already had enough of heartbreaks for more than one lifetime”

After the confused look he gave her at the last bit she added hastily  
“I mean not just in the romantic department, in general. You already offered so much of your heart to the world… I just don’t want you to get hurt again. And it’s… you’re together for four months now, don’t be surprised if he starts to distance himself soon...”  
She smiled at him sadly, feeling that with his adamant faith in love and life and his stubborn mind he won’t follow her advice.

“If my heart gets shattered so shall it be. You can’t tell a man to just stop falling in love. And I don’t intend to. I mean, thank you for caring… I guess? But if it’s fight or flight, as you say, and there’s still time until he chooses flight, I just have to choose for myself now. And I’m one to run towards a fight, not away from it. Especially if it’s about someone as special as Newt is to me.”

Teresa chuckled.

“That’s exactly what I expected from you. But I wanted to try to warn you anyway.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Of course Thomas didn’t give up immediately after Newt’s break up out of nowhere.  
Yes, he was quite dumbfounded the day it happened and just stumbled out the door, but he also knew Newt quite good now.  
So after giving him some time to think and gaining his own composure back, he tried his best to reason with the guy, telling him they don’t need to move in together, it was just a suggestions but really not necessary.  
Trying to remind him that they loved each other, still _loving_ each other.

But Newt on the other hand tried to shut him out. Of his apartment. His mind. His heart.

So Thomas retreated, not physically and emotionally strong enough - at least not at this moment - to pry all those closed doors open for the second time, when he couldn’t even see the hint of a crack in the walls Newt had built up again.

 

 

After their encounter in Minho’s bar he decided he would need some time alone, somewhere far away where there was a non-existent chance to meet the blonde again.

He applied for an exchange program at the research-lab he worked, so his need for change could be combined with his passion for knowledge and thus he gained a new workplace, as fate would want it, in London.

And after a little goodbye get-together with his friends (even Teresa and and Aris came) he left the US, pretty sure that there would be no way he would meet Newt again for the next year.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“He did what?!”

“He moved to London, Newt, using an exchange program that would benefit the research of his lab’s department”, Minho sighed, explaining it a second time to the blonde guy, “so he could go even though there were still two months until the new semester starts under the condition that he would start working full time immediately, at least for the two months prior classes start. And you know what a workaholic he can be when it’s about his interests. He only ever stopped working on the evenings and on sundays because of you, you know. Before you popped up in his life I wouldn’t see him for months sometimes, because he would spent all of his damned time in his lab. He even slept there for a whole week one time.”

Newt just stared at him, mouth agape. He couldn’t quite register what his friend just said. Not the part about Thomas being a workaholic - he was all to familiar with that, even though he never knew the true extent - but the part about him moving to London. How in the world is it possible to find someone in a city this big? He had some clues about his research-field, but he didn’t knew that much, mainly because he didn’t understand a thing. Thomas did something with bacteria and yeast. But in his notion of research everybody working in a laboratory does something with bacteria and yeast, so this wasn’t that much of a help.

“When?”

“One and a half month ago.”

“… Minho, I need you to do me a favour. I promise you everything you want, if you can grant me that, but I did something stupid _and_ some other thing even more stupid and I need your help to fix one thing so I can fix the other.”

“Can you please stop speaking in riddles? I can’t help you if I don’t understand a word you’re saying.”

“I didn’t renew the lease of my apartment. Yes, it was a really stupid thing to do, but I hoped this would be a sufficient act to show Thomas that I’m serious when telling him that I still love him and that I don’t want to live without him anymore because life just isn’t the same and I need you to take all my stuff in your apartment for the time I’m going to London.”

“You did what?!”

“Yes, I know, that was stupid if not a completely brainless thing to do, but I really need you to do me that favour.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying yes to this.”

“Thank you Minho, thank you so much!”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“You are doing what?!”

“I’m going to London. To find Tommy. To tell him I love him.”

“And you couldn’t have had this sudden mind-blowing realization before he moved to the other side of the ocean?”  
She scoffed.

“I admit it would be easier if I had and I know this must sound really reckless to you but _please_ understand that this is really important to me. This is… like a first time experience, I never wanted to have someone back in my life before, T.”

“Yeah… yeah I know. I’m just really...surprised. It’s so unlike you. All of it.”

“I know...”

“You got a place to stay at, in London?”  
“Yes, actually. I talked to my sister, we haven’t had contact in years, but she was quite happy to hear from me again and I must have sounded really desperate when I asked her about staying at her place because she immediately agreed.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful! You really need to stay in contact this time!” Teresa cheered.

Internally she was really worried about the blonde guy, it was so unbelievable unlike him to go to such lengths for another person, but on the other hand it wasn’t just for some other person but for Thomas. And Thomas was a lot of first times for Newt. So she did what best friends were there for and supported him, driving him to the airport, waving goodbye and wishing him all the luck in the world.

She just hoped that if Newt really could find Thomas, that the brown haired guy would still love him. And that his heart could forgive and trust one more time. But she reckoned that the chances weren’t that bad, he got the biggest heart she’d ever seen after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got asked to write a sequel to this story, so I decided to write a second chapter.  
> And there will be another one, because I couldn't fit everything in this one.  
> I already got the ideas for the third one, but because I still got my exams coming nearer and nearer in an alarmingly fast pace it will take some (long) time until I'll be able to update again.  
> I hope you're not disappointed with this chapter, there's a lot of direct-speech conversation, I hope it turned out to be okay?  
> If there are some mistakes don't be afraid to tell me! I would like to fix them and learn to avoid them next time!  
>  
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	3. Our place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “And you’re here to find him now. To get him back.” It was more a statement rather than a question. Sonya was eyeing him with concern, Harriet with wonder.  
> “Yes. Find him. Tell him I love him. Hoping for a second chance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> English isn't my native language.  
> Not beta read.

It felt strange being in London again. It was all familiar, somehow his feet knew all the streets and pathways he wandered all those years ago as if it was just yesterday. He was used to constant chatting and noises of traffic, too. But here it sounded so different, hearing his own accent all the time after listening to the variety of American accents for so long, even the honking of cars and their engines sounded not quite right. It was like listening to a song half a beat off, not able to put a finger on it but hearing it and feeling the uneasiness.

It took him 10 minutes to finally ring the bell of his sisters flat.

 

“Newt! It’s so good to see you. Come in, come in!” she ushered with a big smile, happiness radiating off of her, “We’ve got tea and cake and you must be really tired. You can take a shower and rest some time and then we gonna eat dinner together! Celebrating your lazy, stupid ass finally calling me back for once!”  
  
“Thank you, a nice warm shower and some sleep sounds great actually. Dinner tonight, too. Thank you so much for having me.”

“You’re my brother, of course you could stay here for a while. Even if you’re as stupid and inane as they come.”

Newt shrugged, scratching his head and looking at his nervously shuffling feet in shame.

“I’m sorry. I really am. For not staying in touch, never calling you back and stuff...”

She looked at him fondly.

“Oh, you should be. Really. But you’re here now. So let’s talk later, yeah?”

“Yeah, later…”  
  
He looked up, her voice wasn’t scolding and she looked at him with sympathy. Even though he didn’t tell her the reason why he came so hastily for a visit to London, he got the impression she suspected something. And that said suspicion wasn’t that far off reality. He must’ve looked really miserable right there, he did his best not to show it but she was still his sister, she always could read him best, even after all this time. Maybe that was the reason he cut her out of his life at some point. People reading him like an open book was a terrifying thought.

 

Again he tried to warm his body with some outside source of heat. The hot water rushing down nearly burned him, his light skin already looking slightly pink, his mind getting clouded, head dizzy. He let himself lean on the shower wall, sliding down to the ground. The hot water continued to fall down on him with a mind blanking force, fighting the already lost battle against the iciness creeping through his every blood vessel.

He turned the water off, draping a towel around him and fell into a light slumber on the bed.

His hazed mind let him dream of better times, times were he wasn’t lonely, then there was nothing but black void.

 

A warm hand was lightly shaking him, he could hazily make out some soft, quiet words being exchanged between two persons, one sounded familiar, the other one was new to him.

“Newt. Neeewt. Newt. Hey. Wake up. Come on. Dinner is ready.”

“… what? Where?”  
  
Newt blinked a few times before his senses came back to him and with them the knowledge about where he was and why.

“Tommy...” he mumbled absently.

“What?”

“Nothing! Sorry! I just fell asleep, gonna change in some clothes and come down for dinner.”

“All right! But don’t fall asleep again!”  
  
He put on some black jeans and a casual, white button-up and went downstairs for dinner with his sister, with her at the table sat another woman, looking at him expectantly but smiling.

“Ah… yours must have been the other voice I’ve heard. I’m Newt, Sonya’s brother, and you are?”  
  
“I’m Harriet, Sonya’s girlfriend. Nice to finally meet you, you were quite elusive! Great we can get to know each other at last.”

“Her girlfriend?...”

  
“Yes, my girlfriend! I wanted to tell you when we started dating, but you never picked up your phone when I called and when you did you always had to go somewhere super urgently after five minutes, you see.” she said, trying to sound nonchalantly, but failing miserably.

Newt felt his cheeks heating up, averting his gaze as not to look at her, a heavy, defeated breath escaping his lungs.

“I’ll do better this time, I swear. I know I made mistakes. Hell, I made a bloody awful amount of them to be honest.”

Harriet laughed, “You better be starting to do something right, then.”

  
“That’s the plan”, he sat down at the table beside Harriet, Sonya opposite from him and looked at them, “so why not start this very moment? Tell me, how you two met, how long have you been dating, what are you up to. I wanna know everything!”

He was met with Sonya practically beaming and saw how Harriet took her hand in her own, looking pleased.

He learned that they dated for one and a half year already, that they met at university because they had a shared anthropology class and instantly clicked. They seemed serious and Newt felt really bad to have missed such an important part of his sister’s life. But he was determined to not miss another thing from now on. They chatted on into the late evening. His head getting fuzzy from all the happiness he felt and maybe also from the wine Harriet brought to the table at some point.

Now all of them sat on the sofa, Newt sipping at his third glass.

“Sooo...” the mood got more serious in an instant just from Sonya’s tone. “You still have to tell us… why you came back to London? I’m glad you did and as happy as I am that you want to be in my life now, I know that I’m not the reason you’re here.”

The words caught him off guard and the dizziness faded, he felt strangely sober and like vomiting at the same time. He must’ve looked rather pained, because he felt a warm hand on his shoulder comforting him and two pair of worried eyes looking at him.

“I followed…. I followed a man.”

“A man?”  
  
“My ex-boyfriend sort of?”

“Oh Newt….”

“No. No it’s not what you’re thinking. I… I broke up with him. I was afraid. He asked me if I wanted to move in with him and… I chickened.” his shoulders sacked down, his eyes observing the half-empty wine glass in his hand as if it could help him somehow.

“Was he too pushy? How long were you two together?”  
  
“He wasn’t, he is rather perfect actually, he’s the nicest and most understanding person in the whole world. We were together for two years and he never overstepped, not once. You know me Sonya, you know how easy I get scared. But he didn’t do anything I wasn’t comfortable with! Not one single thing. And I… I pushed him away, because I panicked. Told him I don’t love him anymore.”

He shook his head, then resting it in his hands in clear frustration.

“But I do, god do I love him, so bloody much. I tried to forget him, dated so many people in the last months, but… it didn’t work, they weren’t him.”

“What is he doing here? In your home town? Was it on purpose?”  
  
“I don’t think so…” he sighed “He applied for some kind of exchange year, he’s in his last year for his masters degree, but he was always working in research, long before he even started studying. I think it was pure coincidence that working in London would benefit his facilities research.”

Secretly Newt hoped London was more fate than coincidence. That it was meant to be. No matter how helplessly romantic it would’ve sounded if he’d dared to voice his thoughts out loud.

“And you’re here to find him now. To get him back.” It was more a statement rather than a question. Sonya was eyeing him with concern, Harriet with wonder.

“Yes. Find him. Tell him I love him. Hoping for a second chance.”

 

 

He wandered around London and the university campus a lot the next few days, always hoping he would bump into Thomas. He tried his best to find a starting point, searching at the cafeteria around the research labs and the visiting the open lectures in Thomas’ study field. But with no luck so far.

 

* * *

 

 

Thomas dove himself into his work. Falling back into his old pattern of nothing but work and studies. The only time he wasn’t at the laboratories was when there were lectures and classes. He was always the first to be at work and the last to leave. And when he came back to the small dormitory room he shared with a guy named Winston he read papers and books until he was too exhausted to think about anything else.

 

“Hey man, you gotta live a little bit here. I rarely see you around, it feels like I’m living alone. If it weren’t for the always growing pile of books at your desk I wouldn’t even now you come back to sleep here.”

“Sometimes I don’t, there’s a sofa in the conference room of the lab.”

“Yeah… that’s weird. My point is you gotta do something else.”

“Nah, I’m good, really. I love what I do.”  
  
“I can see that, clearly you’re crazy about this stuff but maaan, there’s more than that.

Look, there’s a party this Friday at one of my friends. And you, mister, are definitely coming with me.”

“I don’t know...”

“Yeah you do! Wind down a little. Drink some beer, get your head clear… or not so clear, alcohol tends to do the opposite, you know. Maybe find some nice girl to fool around for the evening. You get the gist.”

“Ah… I’m not much into that to be honest.”

“Oh boy. I don’t judge, whatever. But you’re coming with me. No back talk!”  
  
Thomas sighed, he knew there was no chance he could evade this, so he agreed to go to this party, under the condition that Winston wouldn’t pressure him to drink anything and that he could leave after three hours if this party wasn’t for him. And he would arrive a little late, because he had to finish some work at the lab first.

Winston rolled his eyes, but smiled at him, he got what he wanted, but he wondered what it was that moved Thomas to spent all of his time working. Nobody can be this crazy in love with their work.

 

* * *

 

“Newt, hurry up!”

“I am, I am, give a man some time!”  
  
“You had plenty time, now come on!”  
  
Newt hastily buttoned the last of his button-down and tuck it into his jeans. Harriet and his sister persuaded him to go to a party tonight with them, to relax a little bit and to refuel his energy tanks. He argued a little bit, because he was positive that there was no chance Thomas would be there, but they managed to convince him to go nonetheless. They arrived quite early and helped with some last minute preparations. It didn’t take long and lots of people flocked into the apartment.

Newt got himself a drink and went to talk with some people in the back of the living room. Maybe he could manage to take his mind off of Thomas, even if it were just for the span of an hour.

 

* * *

 

When Thomas arrived at the party he really thought it wasn’t too bad. He didn’t have time to shower, as Winston insisted to be there at eleven p.m. the latest. He just wore some jeans with sneakers and an old band shirt, but he didn’t care. He didn’t think about Newt this evening and he thought he’d made some progress in that department over the last few months. Maybe he actually could move on at some point. He strolled around the apartment with a beer in one hand he decided to drink eventually and relatively good mood, talked to some people and he even dared to say he was enjoying himself.  
But when he walked into the living room it struck him like lightning. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Legs shaking and his hand lost the grip on his bottle of beer, rushing down to the floor. But he didn’t care, he didn’t realize, his eyes were fixated on the blonde guy at the corner, half hidden behind a pool of people. Someone brought him a cloth and he started to wipe absent-minded.

It couldn’t be. Is inner voice roared at him to leave. Run away. To do as the man in front of him always did. But it was too late. His feet had already dragged his body in front of him.

And in a matter of seconds he lost himself deep in the darkest eyes he ever saw and it felt all to familiar. He could do nothing but stare. He didn’t know what to say, didn’t know what he wanted _him_ to say, so he just stood there. He barely realized that those eyes came nearer, near enough for him to count the lashes. To count the wrinkles around them, checking if the number was still the same. It was. He felt a breath on his lips that wasn’t his own, resembling a questioning tingle. He inhaled, the scent of beer and something else flooding his senses, something he craved for, he felt like an addict in this moment and was half aware of himself just slightly nodding. Enough for the other man to recognize.

And then all of his senses went numb and overwritten with an explosion of something bigger. A warm prickling sensation flooded everything else, desire and despair coursing through his veins like tides. Soft lips pressing against his own chapped ones, not with force but determined and with a certain kind of inevitability. A tongue caressing his lips like shallow waves, growing into the boisterous sea as soon as he granted harbour. He absorbed everything and then he fought back with full force, his hands wandering along the body in front of him, caressing, scolding, testing, squeezing. As if he needed every tough touch to convince his fingertips that this was real. He felt strong arms locked firmly around him and he took the chance to bury his nose in the crook between the blonde’s neck and collarbone, inhaling his scent. The urge to suck in his scent blended into the need to taste. He licked and nibbled and bit the sensitive skin and was rewarded with a low rumbling moan, vibrating underneath him. The last resolution in him crashed into pieces and he took over.

 

* * *

 

Newt felt himself dragged off, he didn’t know where to and he honestly didn’t care. He finally felt the warmth inside again. Thomas was the only thing on his mind and at this point he would follow him everywhere, he wouldn’t do the same mistake twice. He knew they needed to talk, but right now he couldn’t. When he saw Thomas in front of him his brain short-circuited and all he could do was take, take, take. He clung to everything Thomas gave him, relishing every single bit of affection, grasping for the tiniest sign of love, inhaling the air around him that screamed his lovers name. In the blink of an eye he found himself in a dorm room, stripped down to nothing, not remembering how he got to this point, but ultimately not caring because Thomas was naked as well, falling into him whilst catching him all at once.

At first there was nothing but raw lust and nails and teeth and hurt, a fight for dominance Thomas won with ease because Newt didn’t dare to fight more than Thomas needed him to, but then it turned into something softer, chaste kisses he spluttered along Thomas’ chest to soothe the pain of his markings in exchange for delicate touches planted on his thighs and belly and along his spine.

The fierce sex turned into making love, because Thomas never was one to separate his feelings from his body and this man had too much love in him for his own good.

And Newt found himself to finally give in the same way, letting Thomas know with every kiss and touch and breath and moan that he was here to love him, that he was unquestionably ready to fully give himself away as well.

Moans filled the room, mixed with the scent of sweat, white pleasure washed over them like a hurricane and left them in pieces, heavy breathing the only remain.

 

 

 

They both lay awake on their sides, facing each other, a gap between them. A gap both wanted to close, but couldn’t because of what it contained. After what felt like eternities Newt began to speak, his voice shy and hesitant and so, so small.

“You know… I thought about us, a lot… hell… I don’t know if there was so much as one bloody day since… since _that day_ I didn’t thought about you for the majority of it.

And I thought perhaps… perhaps our love is like in Grimm’s, with the hare and the hedgehog. Me rushing away, totally sure to be the first to reach the goal, but in the end you were already waiting at the finish line. And that scared me, because nobody managed to outrun me before, and all I could do was bolt into the other direction, before I even reached you. But the thing is, _you_ had already reached me, so there was no logic in running away. Because your personal finish line was my heart and I was too blinded by fear to see the beauty in that. Instead I just saw you winning the game I dreaded to loose so much, but how could I even dare to think about winning while ultimately sprinting into the wrong direction? In the version of the fairytale Grimm told, the hare dies from exhaustion. He runs and runs and runs. He never stops and the hedgehog is always winning, always already waiting. And it took me long enough to realize that I don’t wanna die Thomas, I don’t wanna be the hare anymore. I wanna be the hedgehog, because in this fairytale you need two hedgehogs to win the race, and I want to be your partner, I want to win this together. And I’m really sorry I couldn’t see it before, that this game is meant to be won as a team. That I couldn’t see how much I love you.”

“I’m not a hedgehog, Newt, neither are you a hare. There is no game to be lost or won.” Thomas took a deep breathe, averting his gaze, desperately trying to calm the turmoil in his stomach, this was too much at once, all of his feelings crashing down on him. Newt could see flashing emotions in his eyes, he was sure of that. He could probably see a glitter of hope, hooded by his fear of being hurt again.

“I’m me and you’re you. There was a we in that. And maybe there could be a we again. But not now. Not right now. I need some time.”

 

And there it was again. The hollow feeling Newt couldn’t get rid of the last few months, but managed to put aside with a lot of hopefulness, now hitting him with full force, like a blast, pressuring all his other feelings down to crumble to dust.

He felt himself nodding at Thomas’ words and turned around, getting up, putting his clothes back on, functioning in trance, everything around him was buzzing, the silence louder than anything else. He just wanted to find a way out of this place.

 

February was especially rainy this time in London and particularly cold outside at night.

Cold enough for every breath in his lungs to burn and every raindrop to feel like pinpricks on his skin.  
It was better than feeling nothing at all.

 

But then he felt another thing, arms wrapping around him, a head burying himself in his shoulder from behind.

“Tommy…?”

“I changed my mind. I don’t need more time, I had enough already. I won’t let you go like this.”

“Tommy…”

He turned around, Thomas never loosening his embrace, and hugged back.

“I love you Tommy, I love you.”  
  
“I love you, too”

They stood in the rain, just in jeans and shirts, and held each other.

Newt’s insides burnt and his skin was tingling, hot teardrops falling down his face, he didn’t know if they were his or Thomas’, but it didn’t matter.

Because he didn’t feel the rain anymore.

 

* * *

 

Newt got scolded by Sonya the next day for not calling her, she was worried sick. But as soon as Newt told her what happened her look softened. She was glad everything worked out for them. Going to this party wasn’t too bad of an idea after all. And Newt got his punishment for not calling by catching a serious cold, even a born Londoner like him couldn’t stand in winter rain with just a shirt without becoming sick. Needless to say Thomas had to call in as well.

But they didn’t care, at least they had an excuse to cuddle and share body heat all day.

Newt sent Minho and Teresa a photo of them laying together in bed with chicken soup.

_Thank god you stupid shanks!_ \- Minho

_I knew it!_ _I knew h_ _e’s got the biggest heart I’ve ever seen!_ \- Teresa

 

* * *

 

“I can’t come with you now, still got that exchange thing going and you have to got back to your studies as well. But I truly want to be with you, if you want this too that is. So wait for me? To come back?”

“Yeah.. yeah I will be. Waiting for you.” the blonde took a deep breath, “I’ll count the days until you can come back home. Back home… to our apartment?” the blonde looked at him sheepishly, hopefully and a tad insecure, shuffling with his feet.

But after the few seconds the man needed to process his words Thomas’ smile was the greatest Newt had ever seen, love literally radiating off of him, but it was soft, oh so soft. He felt content, at peace at last. And with his next words the brunet made him the luckiest man alive.

“Yeah, that would be wonderful.”

 

 

 

_They lived together in their shared apartment for five years when it was Newt who took the next step, asking Thomas for his hand in marriage. Needless to say that he said yes._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... that's it, I hope you enjoyed reading.  
> I'm really self-conscious in regards of my writing, but it's fun so I think I'm gonna continue doing it.  
> If you've got any tips or special wisdom please do share! ;)  
> And please call me out on grammar and orthography mistakes, I'd really like to fix those!
> 
> Thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> So.. this is my second story, I hope some of you liked it.  
> If anybody has some idk tips and tricks of how to improve my writing, I'm eager to learn.  
> I actually didn't thought I would write something again after my first story, but here I am.  
> This story is actually inspired by a song, those of you who understand german could give it a shot.  
> It's called "Meine Kneipe" by "von wegen Lisbeth".


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